Regional Staffing

This issue is a particular problem at prisons such as Greenough, Eastern Goldfields, West Kimberley, and Broome.

WAPOU have been actively involved in discussions with the Department about ways to resolve the issue. WAPOU welcomes the current commitment to focus on regional recruitment along with the waiving of waiting times for metro based Officers who wish to transfer to Greenough, Eastern Goldfields, West Kimberley, and Albany. The recent riot at Greenough Regional Prison highlighted the problem with staffing that WAPOU members have been aware of for some time.

WAPOU has also had productive conversations with the Department to explore ways to attract and retain officers at Greenough and Eastern Goldfields. We are optimistic that those conversations will soon lead to a solution that will go a long way to resolve the issue. Members will be kept up-to-date with developments.